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How Many Dehumidifiers Do I Need

How Many Dehumidifiers Do I Need? [5 Factors Analyzed] 

Due to their great performance in combating dampness, dehumidifiers are becoming increasingly popular in American homes.

But how many dehumidifiers do you need? Even though one dehumidifier is usually enough, it is hard to give a clear-cut answer to this question. It is dependent on many factors, including the size of your room, the indoor humidity level, how many rooms you have,  whether you own property, and the design of your home.

I will go over each factor in this post so that decide the number of dehumidifiers you need for your house according to your own situation. 

Factors that affect how many dehumidifiers you need for your house

Again, because everyone has different living conditions, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. I believe that by considering the factors in this section, you will be able to calculate the number of dehumidifiers you require.

1. Size of your room or house

If you search online, you may have noticed that most dehumidifiers these days are identified as being appropriate for a certain square footage of the room. my Midea dehumidifier can handle a 4,500-square-foot space. However, some of the more affordable models on the market can only handle a 200-square-foot room.

You should make sure your dehumidifier or dehumidifiers are able to lower the humidity level as you expect. Therefore you should compare the size of your room with the coverage of your dehumidifier. 

The coverage should be larger than your room size. If not, consider running two units in parallel or replacing them with a more powerful model.

2. Indoor humidity level

Indoor humidity level

Even if you and your friends have a house of the same size, you guys may need different numbers of dehumidifiers. 

The higher the indoor humidity level, the more powerful your dehumidifier needs to be. That is to say, your dehumidifier should be capable of removing the water when placing it in a room with excess humidity.

Another metric to consider when selecting a model is capacity. It will show you how many pints of water it can remove in a 24-hour period. A 70-pint dehumidifier, for example, is large enough to dehumidify a large living room.

If you and your friends decide to buy the same unit, then you may need to order two to ensure that your machine can properly regulate the level of humidity in your home.

As such, assuming your basement is the same size as your bedroom, you may need to put two units in the basement to achieve the same result as one unit in the bedroom.

3. How many rooms need to be treated

For those who live in a relatively dry region, the only wet space you need to deal with may be the basement or bathroom. If you live in a humid climate, you may need to remove excess moisture from every room.

It is a good idea to use a hygrometer to test the humidity level before deciding how many dehumidifiers or how powerful the dehumidifier should be.

4. Are you a homeowner?

If you are a homeowner, you can make permanent changes to your house. As for installing dehumidifiers, you have the option of using a whole-house dehumidifier. As a result, the humidity in your home will be adjusted at the same time.

As a tenant, buying a portable dehumidifier may be a better choice. While a humidifier can be used for multiple rooms, it is advisable to use a dehumidifier per area. That is, if you want to control humidity levels in different rooms, you will need to purchase a few portable dehumidifiers.

5. Your house design

Some houses use an open floor plan, meaning that you can engage with people in different rooms easily without a permanent door. In this case, it is easier for a single dehumidifier to control the humidity in multiple rooms. 

If there are many walls between each room, the efficiency of your appliance will be largely reduced.

How many dehumidifiers do I need for my basement?

In most cases, your basement only requires one dehumidifier. You can buy a model that fits your room based on its size and humidity level.

Nowadays, you can find models that can cover up to 5000 sq. ft. As a result, you are not likely to need to buy multiple ones.

Can one dehumidifier do a whole house?

Yes. There are two options available. 

If you own a home, you can choose to have a whole-house humidifier installed. The entire house would then be kept at the proper moisture level.

If your home has an open floor plan, you can also use a large room dehumidifier. In this case, the dehumidifier can handle the moisture from the entire floor.

How many dehumidifiers should you have in your home? In conclusion

A dehumidifier is a useful household appliance for dealing with humidity problems. Otherwise, dust mites, mold, and mildew will breed and endanger you and your home.

If you have an adequate budget, installing a whole-house dehumidifier can adjust the humidity of your entire house. If not, you should figure out how many units you’ll need.

Unless your home has an open concept design, one dehumidifier will usually serve a single area. Aside from that, you should choose a unit that can handle the moisture in your room to avoid having to purchase two.

Your local climate is also important because you may or may not need to run your dehumidifier in your bedroom, living room, or other locations. This will also have an impact on the number of dehumidifiers.

As long as you take these factors into account, you can easily know the number of dehumidifiers you need for your house.

You may also want to know how many humidifiers you need for your house.

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Liz Yang is the founder of Airsmartly. She has been working at home for a few years and realizes that the performance of the HVAC system plays such an important role in our life. She has tested more than 150 products in person, including humidifiers, air purifiers, dehumidifiers, and ACs, and wants to share tips about using or troubleshooting these products with you. Her uncle is an HVAC expert with over 30 years of experience in the field, and often offers assistance when she is unsure how to handle a situation. He is also in charge of reviewing the articles on this site.

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